This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will …
My rifle and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit …
My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will …
Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America’s and there is no enemy, but peace!
~Major General William H. Rupertus 1941’ish (USMC)
While my carbine isn’t a “rifle” (and carbine is pronounced car bean for anyone wondering), it is as close as I’ll probably get to one. Rifles have a longer barrel and tend to weigh a bit more. For someone as short as me, a carbine is just easier to handle. It also makes for a great home defense weapon without the kick of a shotgun. It is something that even Mrs B can use. It is also easily taken apart for portability. (a push of a button and twist of the barrel and voila, it fits in my backpack for hiking!)
Anyway, back to the Rifleman’s Creed. When I was picking up my gun the other month at the store, several of the men there were discussing the Rifleman’s Creed and one of the younger guys was enthusiastically and quite vociferously saying that it had been around since the Revolutionary War days (late 1700’s for you non-Americans). The owner of the shop ended up asking everyone in the store what they thought. I guessed World War One, as only a mass produced weapon can produce a line like “There are many like it, but this one is mine“. The shop owner guessed around the Korean War (1950) and there were guesses all over the place. It was quite an interesting little topic of discussion. Of course, after we’d all had our say, Mr Young and Vociferous looked it up on Wikipedia and discovered it was of the World War Two era.
I have already replaced the magazine well so it can accept glock mags. I’ve also bought several Glock17 33round mags.
Taking this fine piece of equipment apart, changing its guts and putting it back together again definitely falls under the “I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel” aspect. Removing a spacer in the buttstock also made this slightly more comfortable for me, as I don’t have space gorilla length arms. The next order of business is to get a sling for it and then either a red dot sight or an actual scope. Given my diabetes and how it affects my eyes, I’m leaning towards an actual scope. What good will a red dot sight do me if I can’t see the danged red dot at 25 yards? What I’d REALLY like is a suppressor so if I’m forced to use this as a home defense gun I won’t make myself deaf. Of course, a suppressor costs as much as the gun itself so that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
One of the main reasons I chose this gun over some of the others is because it uses 9mm ammo, the same as my Sig Sauer P938 pistol. The PC in the name (PC Carbine 19100) stands for Pistol Caliber.

Being able to use the same ammo for both my guns is a big deal for me. It makes buying, storing and using just that much easier. It is also cheap and one of the most common types of ammo, so availability is pretty decent. A gun won’t do anyone any good without the ammo to back it up. A rifleman must be aware of all aspects of his weapon, including the ammo. I feel like I’ve got that part down pat too.
That should wrap up this little ramble. Thanks for hanging in until the end.